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Episode 4 Hunting with Mersa (Read 3374 times)
AncientCraftwork
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Re: Episode 4 Hunting with Mersa
Reply #15 - Oct 6th, 2021 at 9:33am
 
Even the best of slingers we know today still miss and that's throwing at static targets without obstructions, allowing their bst stance, throwing from short distances
. I think when you would spend hours stalking and tracking only then to miss or not even be able to throw because the animal gets spooked by the movement of the sling, it shows how unproductive it is. Huntprimitive on youtube mentioned how even the atlatl produces too much movement most of the time and it spooks the animal.
To me sling hunting is throwing a rock into a flock (on land, water or in the air) and hoping it hits a bird. That's where sling hunting ends for me.
You can say ''git gud'' but I don't see the evidence the sling was used for much hunting besides that type.
Not because the sling does not have the killing power, but because there are better tools that give a much higher chance of success. I don't see the sling as a good all round hunting weapon anymore. too much movement, sound and space requirements.
Even something as basic as a Greek style cast still produces more movement then an atlatl cast. 
But the sling has other uses besides hunting which more dedicated hunting weapons like the bow don't have.
This is my opinion. I used to be more pro sling hunt, but it's becoming more distasteful for me as I try it again and again. The last time I tried was a few days ago without success (2 near swan hits but ran out of stones) and I've decided to stop trying as it's a waste of time. Also did some deep self reflection on hunting and I cannot morally align it anymore. Anyway, there are far better methods of getting food from nature where I am then hunting.
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Mersa
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Re: Episode 4 Hunting with Mersa
Reply #16 - Oct 6th, 2021 at 6:35pm
 
It’s all a part of the hunt. Luckily I don’t have to hunt for food I’d probably be a pretty hungry guy. Even if I took what I could from the land I think I’d fall short most of the year .
Where I am it’s the sea that has the most food readily available. All sorts of easy things to find and eat . The plants here would be a struggle to survive off without serious knowledge of what to get and how to get it. And well in a survival setting hunting would be an option too just because of native animals that we don’t hunt but you would in a private or survivor scenario.

The sling shines in some areas and not in others. Like most weapons they have advantages and disadvantages. You’re totally right, a sling is not gonna be as easy to be successful with. This is a given. But this doesn’t totally mean it’s not effective. Most your issues are associated with the accuracy and the movement required to take a shot. And really both come down to the user in some way. Accuracy is just a combination of practice and good equipment choices. But the equipment only gets you so far , this is the issue, the sling doesn’t give an easy answer to accuracy. Bows ,guns , blowguns, slingshots even an atlatl has some directional aiming to it. So it really is a much harder tool to learn.

Now that being said you can be accurate with a sling . But how accurate and how consistent is debatable. Given the small number of people who actually show their accuracy with slings and the community itself being very small it can be said that really we all just suck and the limits of slinging have not been reached . I know I’m personally doing things I thought I would never do with a sling but the progression is long and unknown. You think something is impossible until you do something that you didn’t think was possible. We honestly might all be like children in context to how good slingers have been in the past.

The movement thing just comes down to understanding the whole hunt. You don’t just draw your bow any time , or walk whenever you want. The whole process you can get caught out . Doesn’t really matter on the equipment. Yes a sling requires more movement but that might need to be incorporated into the gameplan.

All in all your right to not want to hunt with a sling. It’s definitely not a thing to be taken lightly. It’s a big commitment if that’s a goal of your own.
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Hirtius
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Re: Episode 4 Hunting with Mersa
Reply #17 - Oct 7th, 2021 at 3:14pm
 
J, there are quite accurate slingers out there. Jaegoor is pretty good, and I think he has a long history with it. Anyways, I think you are under the impression that sling hunting isn’t reasonable because you couldn’t sustain yourself off of it. However, hunting was merely a part of the diet for ancient hunters, even when they had bows. While there are some cultures more hunting dependent, they would probably focus on larger game which the sling isn’t geared towards. It’s not a fair comparison. The lack of evidence you see for more precise hunting is due to lack of evidence in general. But just because it’s more easily suited to large flocks doesn’t mean it wasn’t used for precision. For example, we have an account of Ligurian slingers targeting and taking out individual birds. But I think the use in warfare is a better attestation, as it was used in situations even without dense infantry formations.

But I think I should go back to something I said earlier, the spin doesn’t always spook prey. I think Jaegoor has said it, and I’ve tested it myself. Most small game get spooked by the crashing of the rock, and several cultures that use the sling to scare off birds from fields use really long release cords to amplify the crack of the sling.
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NooneOfConsequence
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Re: Episode 4 Hunting with Mersa
Reply #18 - Oct 20th, 2021 at 10:29pm
 
You also have to consider the possibility that game was more plentiful in the wild in the past (in some places). If you missed or spooked the animal… that’s a bummer, but that doesn’t mean you starve. Maybe you only get a kill on 1/5 shots… That means that if you have an opportunity to take at least 5 shots in a day… you probably get to eat that day.
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“My final hour is at hand. We face an enemy more numerous and cunning than the world has yet seen. Remember your training, and do not fear the hordes of Judas. I, without sin, shall cast the first stone. That will be your sign to attack! But you shall not fight this unholy enemy with stones. No! RAZOR GLANDES!  Aim for the eyes! May the Lord have mercy, for we shall show none!“  -Jesus the Noodler
 
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